Taking Your Place
by Not-Knowing-Is-Everything
Summary: I have one of your own. One your care about very dearly. I will give them back, unharmed, but not without a price. One of you will be dead by the end of this day. No tricks, or you will not get your treat. Good Luck BAU. A letter is delivered to the team giving them an ultimatum. They have to choose who dies. Mini-Story! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, i just had this idea because i was really bored. I am still writing my other story so dont worry! :) I intend this story to be a Two/ThreeShot, depending on the response i get. haha So please reveiw! and tell me if i should continue! :) xx**

His handwriting was messy, ink splattering across the page. He thought it gave his _friendly_ letter some character. The ink splash looked remarkably like a blood splatter. He knew by the end of the day, there would be someone's blood on it anyway.

SSA Jennifer Jareau was frustrated to say the least. Ever since Will had found another job in Virginia, he was gone every morning by 5 o'clock, leaving her to drop Henry off at day-care. Luckily she had found one that suited her hours.

'Mommy, I don't wanna go to day-care. I wanna stay home with you!' Henry whined, struggling against his mother's hold as he carried him to their car. Henry's longer blond hair was covering his eyes as he tried to escape her vice like grip.

'Momma's got to go to work, Henry. All of your friends will be at day-care, even Tommy!' JJ said, trying not to yell at her son. It was proving a challenge.

Henry pouted as he was placed into his car seat.

'I'll tell you what, Henry, Me and Uncle Spencer will come and pick you up afterwards and he will come over.' JJ said, this being her last bargaining option to get Henry to go to day-care.

'Really, mommy?' Henry practically squealed with excitement that his godfather was coming over.

'Yup! I promise!' JJ said as she got into the driver's seat. She sighed with relief that Henry had stopped his whining. He knew that Reid would also be excited to see his godson, he hadn't seen him in so long, the family of three had been on holiday for a week.

As JJ pulled up to Henry's day-care, she smiled at the fact that Henry had a big grin plastered on his face, the same grin she always got when he wanted cookies at the supermarket. She walked round to her sons car door and let him out of his seat. The pair held hands as they walked up to the friendly yellow painted walls of Sunny Sam's Day Care.

JJ spoke as she walked Henry in. 'You be good, Uncle Spencer and I will be back soon to pick you up!'

'Okay, mommy!' He wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed a hug. 'Love you Mommy!'

'Love you too, Henry.' Henry ran off in the other direction towards his friend Tommy, after JJ released him from the hug.

JJ stood there for a moment, just watching her beautiful baby boy in day-care. _He's already in day care? Ugh, I feel old._ JJ laughed at how much time flies, smiled at her boy and, noticing her watch, left the day care centre. She was already late.

Spencer could faintly hear the beep of his alarm, taunting him that it was time to wake up; the high pitched tune doing no favours for his already prominent headache. Reid dragged his lanky frame out of his bedroom and into the shower. The hot water on his skin woke him out of his sleepy daze. He soon stepped out of the shower with a tiny bit more energy, that energy needed to be aided with hot coffee, and soon. Once in his bedroom, he walked to his closet and pulled on his clothes for the day. He went with a grey-blue button up with a red tie and black vest, with some slacks and odd socks with his black Chucks. He surveyed himself in the mirror, he was never really pleased with his reflection, the man, or rather boy, staring back at him was tall and very skinny. He had dark circles under his eyes and unruly lengthy chestnut hair that hung around his youthful eyes. He sighed, but was contented when he saw a picture frame to his left of him and Henry. Reid obviously didn't know the photo was being taken; he was smiling goofily at his toddler godson, while holding him on his lap, reading a book to Henry.

Being released from the happy memory, Reid grabbed his gun and holster, placed it on his hip and grabbed his messenger bag on the way out the door to the coffee shop he went to every morning on the way to work. He sipped his strong black and sweet coffee and began his subway commute. He did not know that this would be the last time he ever walked this route.

The man walked into the office building, holding the messy letter in his hands. He was quite handsome, tousled blond hair atop his head, muscularly built. He walked up to the front desk acting flustered.

'Excuse me, I, uh, some dude just came up to me and told me to give this to the FBI, I was just on my way to work but he said that people's lives depended on it… it has BAU written on the front, what does that mean?' his voice shook in every correct place, convincing the women before him.

'That will probably mean the Behavioural Analysis Unit, ' she said unconsciously, she had been trained to deal with distressed civilians, even though she was just a receptionist. She took the envelope form the shaking man's hands and turned around to page security about the envelope. 'now sir, can you please give me a descript-' As she turned back around to face the man, he was gone. _Must be late for work, _she thought as she waited for security to arrive.

An hour later, the steady voice of Aaron Hotchner resounded through the bullpen.

'BAU team, conference room, now, you too Garcia.'

JJ and Reid had arrived only 15 minutes ago and were speaking to Morgan and Prentiss.

'Do we have a case already?' Morgan spoke, irritation biting in his voice.

'If we do, it hasn't come through me.' JJ spoke, her voice nearing anxiousness.

They exchanged glances as they made their way to the conference room.

'Have you seen it?' Hotchner spoke to Rossi as he was the first to enter the room.

'Yes, doesn't look too good.' Rossi spoke with worry.

Hotch just waited for the rest of his team who filed in, silently taking their seats.

'What's this about, Hotch?' Morgan began, looking at the envelope in his hands.

Hotch gestured towards the envelope, 'This envelope was delivered by a member of the public to the front desk this morning. It had _BAU _written across the front. Security and lab checks have been done, nothing but a letter inside.'

'What does it say?' Prentiss asked, wondering why Hotch was hesitating.

Instead of answering, a picture of the letter lit up the screen in front of the round table.

_I have one of your own._

_One you all care about very dearly._

_I will give them back, unharmed, but not without a price._

_One of you will be dead by the end of this day._

_You have until three o'clock or my hostage will see a rather untimely death._

_Once your decision is made, the chosen one will walk out of the building via the back entrance._

_I shall then put a bullet in the subject's brain._

_Inside the bullet will be the hostage's whereabouts. _

_No tricks or you won't get your treat._

_Good luck, BAU._

One question was etched into every team member's brain. Who did they have?

'He obviously is trying to stall us; he hasn't given the identification of his hostage.' Reid was the first to speak once everyone had read the note.

'He?' Prentiss questioned.

'This UnSub is almost definitely a male. Females tend to be more sincere and explain why they are doing this, but this unsub has done the opposite. He had given us an ultimatum and been very direct while doing it.' Reid explained to everyone in the room.

The group nodded. Garcia just sat there, worry building in her gut. _Who do they have?_

'This UnSub is a male and is most likely acting out of revenge.' Morgan stated, examining the letter and its envelope.

'His hand writing tells us of his obvious anger, messy and rough looking.' Morgan explained at the other's looks.

'What if the writing is more out of nerves than temper?' JJ spoke, her voice wavering.

'No, this man is definitely a narcissist, his use of _I have, I shall, I will, _all indicate self-obsession which is key with narcissist and their ego's, they don't have nerves.' Rossi spoke to everyone, his voice sounded very neutral.

'Okay, Garcia, Reid, Morgan and Prentiss, you go through the case files, look for a man in his 30's or 40's that would want revenge on this team. Look at relatives of UnSub's that we have caught or that have died. Me, JJ and Rossi will search for his hostage-'

Hotch was interrupted by JJ's phone ringing.

JJ looked at the group apologetically, looked at the screen and saw Will's name.

'Will, Hey.' She said into the phone, her voice hiding the nervousness. She was smiling as she spoke.

Soon her face fell as the voice filled her ear.

'Will- wait what? No. I just dropped him off- No. it can't-'JJ's eyes widened in shock, water pooling in them.

'A-Alright, see y-you soon-n.' As JJ hung up her phone, she let it fall to the floor.

'I know who he has.' JJ spoke softly, her eyes staring up at Hotch.

Although he feared he already knew, when JJ spoke, his fears where confirmed.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke.

'H-henry.'

**TBC or not? Your choice! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The look in JJ's eyes was one of pure certainty. She knew that she would do anything to get her son back; anything, even if it meant losing her life. She also knew that Will would do the same. That's what scared her. She couldn't look after Henry without Will. She wouldn't be able to cope with her own loss, let alone mother her fatherless child. She just couldn't think about it. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts; she was being guided to a chair. As she let the weight of her feet, she didn't feel any more relieved. Her now seeing eyes glanced around the room.

Emily was sitting in her chair, staring into space. Her mind travelling to what JJ must be going through right now. The normally resourceful agent suddenly felt helpless to ease the pain of her friend.

Hotch could barely hold the stoic expression on his face. He knew what JJ was going through. The painful feelings of guilt, helplessness, responsibility, swarmed his mind as he travelled back to when The Reaper ambushed his family and killed his wife. Water began to cloud his sight as he thought about that dreadful day. He laid a hand on JJ's shoulder, a sign of comfort, knowing it would bring none at all to his friend receiving it.

Derek Morgan couldn't control his anger, his hands balled into fists as he rose from his chair.

'That son of a _bitch_ did what?' he growled, his voice growing in volume and strength with each word. He didn't expect an answer.

Rossi couldn't imagine what she was going through, but it did bring back memories of one if his ex-wives and the topic of euthanasia. She was faced with an impossible decision, just as he had been, and he knew what she would do in the end. He would stop her; he couldn't let this man win.

After the news sank into the technical analyst's mind, tears erupted from her eyes. Henry was her Godson, he was her family. Images flooded her of the cute small blond that reminded her so much of JJ, and her tears turned into sobs. A wave of anger hit her. How could he do this? Kidnap and innocent child? Her innocent godson was being held somewhere and she couldn't do anything to help. Then her sobs declined. She rose abruptly and left the room, her normally smiling face was paved with a glare of determination. She was going to get this son of a bitch, and soon.

There weren't many times in his life that the genius Spencer Reid was lost for words, but this was one of them. Henry, his Godson, had been kidnapped. Spencer hadn't said it, but everyone knew. Being a Godfather had changed his outlook on life. Henry brought to life an aspect of his personality that he never thought he would get to experience, parenthood. Although Spencer wasn't his father, he was as close you could get to it. Henry gave him hope, hope that the world wasn't all serial killers and their victims. He felt violated. That was the word to describe it; violated. He remained chained to his seat until Hotch's voice jolted him out of his silent rage.

'Get to work, everyone. Let's find this son of a bitch and get Henry back safe.'

That was all it took to get a room of profilers into a determined frenzy.

'W-what was it that you wanted me to do, Hotch?' JJ asked, tear stains were wiped away fiercely.

'I was kinda hoping she would talk to me.' Will's accent floated from the door frame where he stood dishevelled, anger accessing his features.

'Will!' JJ ran to the door and wrapped her arms around her husband. He did the same. A new wave of tears ran down JJ's face as she squeezed Will tightly, not willing to let him go quite yet.

Hotch exited the room subtly leaving Will and JJ alone. He couldn't imagine what he would do if this had happened to Jack. He shuddered as he made his way to Garcia's office. As he entered, he noticed that every member of his team, excluding JJ, was present. Before he could say anything, Prentiss spoke.

'The police say they have a witness claiming they saw the man carrying a blond boy into a dark suburban SUV. They got a partial. 'ZYX-0' they also got a description. Blonde, well built, handsome. Their sending us his sketch now.'

'Good, I want his face plastered on the 12 o'clock news. Garcia, I need blueprints to every building surrounding these offices that could get a good view of the back entrance.'

'Coming right up… There are three buildings posted that could get a possible view of the back entrance; all containing at least 10 stories.' Garcia relayed disappointed.

'Print the blueprints out, Garcia. Morgan, once you have the blueprints, get together three swat units, you, Rossi and Prentiss will head one each. Search every inch of those three buildings.'

The three determined looking agents left after a few minutes with the blue prints.

'Reid, you look through the cases that fit the profile, see if any stick out. Garcia, see if there was any footage of the kidnapping, we might get lucky and catch this guy's face. I'm going to interview the witness.'

Reid nodded, adding 'Good luck, Hotch.'

Hotch nodded, and was set on leaving before he heard a voice behind him.

'Hotch, what can I do? I need to do something… Please. I can't sit around here feeling helpless. I just can't.' JJ said, her eyes beaming with determination.

Hotch sighed. 'Talk to Garcia about a sketch of the UnSub we received, I want it everywhere.'

'Thank you.' JJ whispered as she was walking away. Glad that she had something to do. Will had decided to talk to Reid to see if he could look through the files with him in the conference room. She was walking to Garcia's den when she heard her unmistakeable voice whisper.

'Got you, you bastard.' Garcia's unusually grim tone made JJ not want to hear it again.

'Garcia? Do you have something?' she rushed into her office, her hand over her heart.

'I can't get his number plate quite yet but I got the monster's face on camera, not too smart now are you?'

JJ looked at Garcia in confusion, noting the fresh tear tracks that were down her cheeks. Her mind suddenly clicked as she saw the blur of a man pushing a boy into a black SUV; a blond boy. Henry. Her heart wretched from her chest as she realized what this was; the worst moment of her life had been caught on camera.

**Hey Readers! THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVEIWS! They are awesome, im glad to know that people like this story! haha Im sorry this chapter is quite short and boring, but i promise it will get better! haha **

**By the way, just thought i would clear a couple of things up, This story was meant to be a one-shot, but my lack of making things quick and easy made it a multi-chapter! haha sorry for the confusion! :) **

**PLEASE REVEIW! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it is! I am SO SORRY about the delay! I lost my motivation, only because of the sad sad sad episode called Zugzwang…(leave your opinions on that episode too!) GUH but im back! Here it is! :) ENJOY! xx**

'Enlarge that bastard's face, Garcia, and run it through the system. Maybe we will get lucky with a past criminal record, and hurry, we only have 3 more hours.' Hotch ordered through his phone as he walked up to the bright yellow Day Care that Henry had attended. Outside, a petite, red-haired woman sat on a park bench staring into space. Hotch guessed from the florescent name tag that she was the owner of Sunny Sam's Day Care, and also Hotch's eye witness.

'Miss Davies? I'm Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner; I am here to ask you a few questions about the kidnapping of Henry LaMontagne.' Hotchner kept his voice even as he spoke and flashed his badge, not wanting to make the women feel any more blame than she already did.

'Uh… Yeah, Sure.' Miss Davies stuttered out. She could tell that the man in front of her was all about getting straight to business.

'Miss Davies, I know you already gave your statement to the police but I need to go through this again with you. I'm going to perform what is called a cognitive interview, all I need you to do is to close your eyes and think back to this morning.' Hotch was used to the other team members doing these interviews but the situation that the team was in was anything but normal.

'Uh…Okay.' Miss Davies hesitated but she closed her eyes on her freckled face sceptically.

'Good. Now can you tell me what you were doing before the man came and took Henry?'

'I… The children were playing out in the fenced area. I remember being angry. One of my colleagues was late and I couldn't look after a house full of little kid's all by myself… It was too much for one person to do…' Her voice was becoming defensive.

'It's okay Miss Davies; I'm not blaming you or anyone else. This is all purely to help Henry. Okay? Now, what happened next?' Hotch said, keeping his tone uncharacteristically soft.

'Uh… Okay, the phone began to ring… We haven't had much money in so we couldn't upgrade to a cordless phone just yet… I thought it might be my colleague but… I was only gone for one minute… When I got back there was this man… He was standing in the doorway… I was about to ask him why he was here when I saw the…the gun. He… he pointed it at m-me and…' The woman's voice heightened as the tears broke through their barriers and travelled rapidly down her cheeks. Before Hotch could intervene she continued.

'He made me call Henry over. He was such a good boy… the next thing I knew he was out of the door and in his SUV… I couldn't get the whole plate number… I'm sorry…'

'Wait; let's go back a bit, to when you called Henry over. You called him, he came. What did the man do?' Hope began to pool in his stomach, if he could get some information on how this man acted towards Henry then he may have some information on the man's behaviour.

'He knelt down… to speak to him… It was hard to hear… he said something about being his Mom's friend and taking him to see Uncle Spencer… He then picked the boy up, almost fatherly, and carried him into the black car… I didn't see him after that.' Her voice was shaking once more.

Hotch sighed gratefully, and thanked the woman for the new information they had gotten. As he was walking to his car he heard someone calling him.

'Agent Hotchner!' Miss Davies called out as she caught up with his long strides.

'Yes?' Hotch asked in a monotone.

'I remembered something else… When he picked Henry up, his short sleeves rolled back up his arm a bit… I thought I saw the beginnings of a tattoo. I'm pretty sure that it was a Ranger's tattoo. I saw th as his sleep rolled up.' She said, hoping that this was helpful to the stoic man before her.

'Are you sure?' Hotch's voice became hard, if she was right that would drastically change the circumstances.

'My brother has the exact same tattoo. I'm positive.' The woman's voice mirrored the hardness that she was spoken to with.

'Thank you for your time.' Hotch reached his car seconds later, put the key in the ignition and fired up the engine. He needed to update his team on the person they were looking for, he was sure he knew who he was connected to.

When Hotch arrived back an hour later, he noticed that Rossi, Prentiss and Morgan were all sifting through files with a slightly distracted Reid and Will in the conference room, as he entered he saw a red eyed JJ and wet faced Garcia glued to her laptop. As soon as he walked through the conference room door he was informed of the, very little, progress the team had made.

'Hotch, we all struck out on the building searches. I'm sorry, man.' Morgan spoke; the clearing of the three buildings had only taken about 2 and a half hours seeing as they weren't very large area wise.

'Will and I have been searching all morning. There are too many possible perpetrators to narrow it down to one UnSub with the parameters we have at the moment.' Reid added to the grim situation; his voice had a desperate edge to it.

'I sent the camera image of our guy to all news stations, they have been playing it non-stop but so far there had been no leads on the tip line.' JJ spoke up, her voice mimicking the hope that she had of finding the guy who took her son.

'I have run the bastard's face through everything, and so far, no hits. I tried to get his number plate too but no such luck. I can't isolate a stable image either and I lose the vehicle on North Street.' Garcia's voice was uncharacteristically angry, her frustration obvious as she tapped ferociously on the key board.

'I may have something. The witness spoke of the UnSub acting fatherly towards Henry. She said that he spoke to him at eye level and said something about being friends with JJ and that he was taking him to see Reid…'

'Oh god.' JJ stood, slightly trembling, tears in her eyes.

'What is it, Jayje?' Will walked quickly to her side, holding her steady.

'That's… That's what I said to him this morning… I-I said that Reid and I would pick him up after Day Care… That was how I got him to go this morning. He didn't want to go… ' Tears travelled down her face as she realized.

'He must have been watching you then. He knew that was the only way for him to get Henry to not be afraid of him.' Rossi spoke with certainty.

'There's one more thing. Miss Davies remembered something else about the UnSub's description. She said when he picked him up she saw the beginnings of a tattoo. She recognized it to be one that Rangers have on their upper arms. Her reasoning was that her brother has that very tattoo.' Hotch finished. He looked upon his teams faces and settled upon the youngest just as the realization hit.

'Philip Dowd.' Reid sighed as the memories filled his mind.

'Philip who?' Rossi asked, he was the newest addition to the team so he guessed it was before he re-joined.

'Philip Dowd, he had a Hero-Homicide complex. We were called to Des Plaines to apprehend a long distance serial shooter in the area. Long story short, he turned out to be a nurse in the ER who under killed his victims so he could save them later. He took me and Reid hostage until Reid shot him through the forehead. He had a Ranger background.' Hotch's voice was filled with anger as he relayed the story. Rossi nodded when he finished, not wanting to push the matter further as they needed to find Henry.

'Garcia, look up all of Dowd's associates that were in the same Ranger squad during his time there and compare it to the snapshot of our UnSub.' Hotch demanded.

After a few tense but quick seconds Garcia's voice resounded off the walls.

'Got him!' As she spoke all agents began to ready themselves for a raid. 'Andy Turner, 42, was in the same squad with Dowd during his time there. It looks like he was firm friends with Dowd, judging from the various photos of the squad. After the squad disbanded it looks like Turner moved onto bomb squad and… Oh my… when the news of Dowd's death hit he moved to Virginia and has been working as a security guard at… here! He's been working here on the ground floor, but on the other side of the facility so we never saw him. The background searches didn't pick up his relation to Dowd because they weren't related, that's as far as the searches go... His car is a black SUV and matches the partial the witness gave… 'Garcia rattled off the information, rarely pausing for air.

'Garcia, is he working today?' Hotch asked intently.

'Yes. He started at 1.30… Just fifteen minutes ago.'

'Garcia…' Hotch began once more.

'Address is 1537 Harpers Ave. Only 10 minutes away.'

'Call security, make sure they don't let him leave or go anywhere out of sight before we get there…'

As the team were rushing out of the door, Garcia yelled out.

'Sir! I just got an email…. From Andy Turner.' Garcia squeaked as she had already looked at the message inside. The email was soon relayed on the screen.

The bold letters _Game Over_ lit up the faces of the group.

'W-What does that mean?' JJ spoke nearing hysterics as she thought about the life of her boy might be over.

At that moment a new voice filled the small room.

'It means that the deal is off.' Turner strolled into the room and was immediately met by the sight of six barrels, all aiming at him.

'Uh, uh uh.' Andy sang in tune with a menacing wiggle of his finger and pulling out a trigger from behind his back, while unbuttoning his uniform to reveal a vest holding various wires and packets of what looked to be C4. 'You take the kill shot, you all die. But, if one of you decides to come for a little _stroll _with me, then many valuable lives shall be spared. Oh, and don't worry about little Henry, although you should be proud, he is a very trusting little specimen, he is at my home; safe and sound. There is only one catch. You all must choose. You must choose amongst yourselves; who will live and who will die.' With that, a smug grin crossed his face and he walked towards the corner of the room and took a seat.

**WOAH! I didn't even see that one coming… or maybe im just blind? Haha I hope you liked this chapter! OH there is one thing that a lovely reader brought to my attention on one of my other stories! The reason I am using ' for speech is because my computer is broken so my '' button doesn't work! Haha Thanks ****_Cartoon Cow_****! **

**Another thing is that my updating may be less frequent because school starts for me in three days so I can only update on weekends! GUH please be patient I WILL finish this story for all those who are interested! :) thanks for your understanding!**

**And thank you guys SOOOOO MUCH for your nice reviews! Keep 'em coming! :D (please :P)**

**Don't hesitate to tell me if I screw something up because afterall I am human! :D Please leave your good or bad opinions on this chapter and any scenarios you make think will occur! I love reading them! THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy! xx**

As they watched the brunette man take a seat in the corner, everyone was thinking about what to do next. They couldn't endanger the lives of everyone in this building by shooting him, but hell, JJ could barely prevent herself. She didn't trust the man one bit, and as soon as he mentioned Henry, her heart dropped and her grip on her gun tightened, whitening her knuckles.

The team of profiler's had no choice, they had to play along with the narcissistic man's scenario, or they would risk more than just their team's lives.

'Guns over here, please. Oh and Miss Garcia? Please draw the blinds.' Turner spoke casually and gestured to under his seat positioned in the corner of the room. His tone was soft and kind as if he was ordering food from a restaurant.

One by one, the profilers placed their guns beneath his chair, carefully eyeing his finger on the bomb trigger. Garcia drew the blinds, carefully noting that nobody was out in the bullpen that had been full just moments earlier; they knew about the bomb. Her best guess was that an agent had seen it through the conference room window and alerted everybody, at least she hoped so.

'I am not stupid, Agent Hotchner, your other gun, please.'

Hesitantly, the unit chief bent over and grabbed his second glock that was strapped to his leg, and then he placed it in the awaiting hands of Andy, instead of under his seat. He rose slowly and backed towards where his team was standing; in a line, backs to the television. Hotch took his spot on the end of the line, beside Prentiss. Rossi was next to Emily and Garcia, who was holding onto the next person in line, Morgan. Derek was beside Reid, who was next to him. JJ and Will slouched, holding hands, and standing next to Reid.

'Perfect!' Andy exclaimed and clapped his hands slightly, making every person in the room tense at the fear of him bumping the detonator. He still had Hotch's second gun in his right hand, and was waving it round madly. As he looked down the line, his eyes and gun stopped upon Will.

'Mr LaMontagne, I do believe you are not part of the BAU team. You may leave.' Andy spoke dismissively, and started to walk back down the line.

'The hell I am.' Will ground out between his teeth. He wasn't about to let his wife be held by some lunatic with a bomb.

'Excuse me?' Andy's tone had changed from kind and dismissive, to hard and cold, startlingly quickly. He stopped in his tracks and pointed the gun at Will and then the door. Signalling it was time to take his leave.

'I ain't leaving Jayje.' Will simply responded, the profiler's stiffened, knowing that Narcissist's do not react well to dominance. Before Andy could make a potentially violent move, JJ broke in.

'Will, listen to him. You're not meant to be in this. Go and find Henry at his house, Please Will he needs help.' JJ pleaded, knowing that Will would understand what she really meant beneath her words. _Will, get out of here. Henry need's his father. Don't make him an orphan by staying. _

Will begrudgingly embraced his wife, knowing what the ulterior meaning beneath her words meant. As he said his good-bye and love-you his eyes became cloudy, he added something on the end, before he exited through the door.

'See you when you get home, Honey.' Will whispered.

'I seriously doubt that.' Andy intervened. Shunning the private moment, he was beginning to become impatient.

As the door closed shut, JJ sniffed away the tears that so desperately wanted to escape. There was one thing that JJ was sure of; she did not want to show this man weakness.

'Aw, wasn't that sweet? Oh well, so… have you made your decision yet? I'm beginning to get impatient.' Andy sounded genuine as he fingered the muzzle of his new gun.

'You expect us to make that decision?' Derek burst out angrily. Today was turning out to be the day from hell and this guy expected them to make a decision like _that_ in less than fifteen minutes? That sure as hell was not going to happen, not on Morgan's watch.

'Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Unless you all have a death wish… I expect you all to discuss with each other, it will make a rather entertaining show.' Turner said smugly, but his voice was becoming hardened and impatient.

The team stared at each other, not knowing what they were meant to say.

'Well fine then, let me jumpstart you into talking. Agent Hotchner, you're the big _boss man, _should it be you who takes the fall for his death? I'm thinking yes… Convince me otherwise, kind sir.' Andy spoke harshly as he walked to Hotch and they stood face to face. Garcia inwardly shuddered at the use of her nickname for Hotch, how much did this guy know about her family?

During the short moments of being held with Turner, Reid's brain was in overdrive, trying to find out any possible ending that doesn't involve in death of one of his Family. He could tell that Henry was still alive from the profile. _This man is a Ranger, he would not, under any circumstances, willingly hurt a child, it goes against their training. But if we push him, he will become angry, thinking we have challenged his authority, and react violently. The only way out of this is to do what he says. We cannot stall him. _Seeing his only option for this to end without numerous deaths, he spoke up.

'I'll go.'

'Reid, No, man!' _Morgan._ He couldn't believe that the words had come out of Spencer's mouth. What was he thinking? Did he have a death wish? The words he spoke were the only ones that would come out of his mouth. Morgan loved Reid like the brother he never had; and now, hearing the words come out of his mouth, it felt like a stab in the back. He just couldn't think of life without the nerdy geeky best friend of his. No awkward smiles and waves when they arrive at another police station. No random rants on statistics. No genius to do a bit of his paperwork for him. As the last one popped into his mind, he smirked, but his eyes quickly became cloudy as he was faced with the reality of this situation. One of his team members would be dead be the end of today, just as the letter had predicted. His face fell into one of anger as he saw Andy begin to approach him.

'What!?' _Rossi. _That was all he could say at this moment. He couldn't exactly comprehend what the kid had just done. Probably the last thing he would ever do. His face contorted into one of pain as the reality dawned on him, too. He didn't think he could bounce back from this one. Sure, in his many years of service to the bureau, people, his friends, had been lost in the line of duty; but never his family; never someone as close to him as Reid. Yes, they had their differences, but Rossi had grown to love the genius kid that he worked with every day. The Italian man had grown to admire the man Reid had turned out to be. Spencer was so young, youthful, eager, innocent…He would be damned if he let him die in his thirties, even if that meant leaving himself for the chopping block.

'Spence! No.' _JJ_. Spence did not just volunteer to be a victim of some narcissistic bastard who was moulding them to get what he wants. The cute, awkward, funny, nerdy genius wouldn't be so stupid, Right? JJ tried to convince her, but the word's she had just heard and, most importantly, the voice that pronounced them rang in her ears, as if they had been freshly spoken. No. He wasn't going to die today. Nobody was. Somehow Turner was going to wind up dead, and everything would be back to normal. She didn't know how to do this; how to let her friend willingly sacrifice his life for theirs. She thought back to when he had asked her out about six years ago, he seemed so young, so nervous and innocent; but the Reid who had asked her out, and the Reid that had just spoken, were two different people. Spencer was not the boy he once was; he was a man. A man she so dearly loved. Reid was her best friend. She wouldn't, no, couldn't let this man take him away from them; ever.

'No you won't, that's an order.' _Hotch. _There were too many emotions; Anger, pride, love, fear... Fear was definitely the most prominent. Hotch was scared. Just as he had been when Gideon was missing, when Reid was taken, when his wife was brutally murdered. Just thinking of those things made his eyes begin to cloud; his stoic expression may have faltered for the few seconds when Reid had spoken. He admired Reid's courage, sure, but he wasn't about to let one of his agent's get killed by a crazed narcissist with a bomb strapped to his chest. The day that happened, would be the day Hotch resigned from the bureau, or died, whichever came first. He couldn't let Reid go with this man, Andy would kill Reid and, in turn, that would kill every one of his team members. Everyone knew that this team was more than just colleague's; they were a family. A family who loved together, laughed together and cried together. He wouldn't let this man attack and break his family, Reid, the awkward genius, was too young to die, and Hotch would prevent that as best he could.

'Oh, God Reid.' _Prentiss. _Reid was the person you could tell everything and anything to, and Emily did. He was her confidant and best friend. Even though he may not get certain social situations, Emily loved the awkward genius very much. Just thinking about life without him broke her compartmentalization barriers. Tears began to build in her dark eyes as she turned to face him, his expression said nothing. Ever since Doyle and her fake death, she had been worried the most about the genius, she worried that the trust they had shared fir several years was severed, and when she came back, she could see how distant he had become. How the hurt and disbelief shone through his wide eyes when she stepped back into the conference room for the first time after Doyle; at least now she knew what that felt like. And she already hated the feeling. She was not going to let this bastard win. She would rather pick up one of those gun's herself and mercilessly shoot the man approaching her best friend.

'Oh no you won't, mister.' _Garcia._ Garcia was unusually furious. Did she just hear her Junior G-man ask to die? What was he thinking? When they got out of this, she was going to give the boy a good slap across the face as a wakeup call. They had all been through hell when he was kidnapped, when she watched him die, she… she didn't want to ever feel that feeling again; the shock, the loneliness, the betrayal that he had given up. She hated all of it; especially the grief. No more Reid, no more awkward genius that she could tease and ruffle his chestnut hair, no more cute half smiles to greet her every morning. As she watched the evil man begin to approach Reid, her rage disappeared and the tears began to overwhelm her. She desperately wanted to stop, but she just couldn't, she knew if Reid… if he… _died_ she would never be the same, optimistic, happy-go-lucky women she was today, well, five minutes ago at least… The sobs began to overwhelm her and she looked at her family, everyone was mirroring each other; shock accessed every feature.

'Guys, it's the logical decision.' Reid spoke with a half-smile. 'Hotch, you have Jack and Beth. Rossi, you have your life's work. Prentiss, you have your Mom. Morgan, your Mom and your sisters. Garcia, you have Kevin. And JJ, you have Will and Henry.' Spencer shrugged as if giving up his life was nothing.

'Man, you have your Mom too.' Derek began.

'My mom would forget to eat if she wasn't supervised; she wouldn't miss me, much...' Reid shrugged again, hands in his pockets.

'…and Henry.' JJ added, becoming furious that Spencer would even think about volunteering.

'He needs you more.' Spencer countered a truthful look in his eyes as they began to cloud.

'Just give us more time.' Prentiss spoke to Andy, annoyed at the fact that Reid would do this and not even think about what the consequences for everyone else would be.

At that moment, as if to answer Prentiss' question, Andy closed his eyes madly, aimed the gun in a random direction and pulled the trigger. A grin lit up his face as he heard the bullet hit its random target.

'Well, you have fifteen minutes, at the most, before you friend bleeds out. That's all the time you get.' With that, a smile lit up his face as he watched the blood begin to pool.

**Um, what just happened? :L**

**Thanks for Reading, to be completely honest, I think this chapter is really crap. :L BUT HEY! If you stick with me, I will make the next one better! I PROMISE! :) **

**Thanks for your kind reviews! Don't forget to Review, yes, even you GUEST READERS! :) Opinions on this chapter would be greatly appreciated! **

**Tell me, honestly, how crap this chapter is, because I'm not impressed! :l **

**OH WELL! At least I have you guys! :D Thanks again!**

**Claire xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**In advance- IM SORRY FOR MY LACK OF UPDATION-NESS, I was just so busy! But thanks for reading… and if you're still with me I'm sorry for this chapter… ;) Please review!**

It was like she was watching a movie where the beautiful woman is cast into distress, and then the white knight comes to save her. Only, in this instance, there was no saviour. No white knight was going to lift her in his arms and they would live happily ever after. The happily ever after part was seemingly impossible as she watched the sticky red liquid ooze out of the hole in her stomach; the crimson colour quickly dampening the spirits that the white and yellow rubber ducky cardigan gave off. After the gun sounded, everyone turned to her, and for a split second she wondered why. Then she felt the frighteningly familiar feeling; the breath-stealing, pure white hot pain, but this time in her lower abdomen. Her well-manicured hand went to the already soaked area as she leaned against the wall and slid to the carpet of the conference room, a trail of blood lining the painted wall. Garcia could see her family rushing towards her slumping physique, their mouths moving but she couldn't hear them. All that resounded in her mind was the sickening hollow hum of silence.

'Penelope!' JJ screamed as she watched her friend clutch at her bleeding stomach and slide to the ground. Everything was in slow motion, her hearing faded as she saw the life-giving liquid form a puddle_. No._ Not Garcia. Not her. She's the most innocent, sweet, kind, cheerful woman JJ had ever known. All she could think of was the vast memories the pair had gathered together, as if her mind knew her time with Garcia was up. JJ's face was pale, blue eyes wide with pure fear, mouth agape. Slowly, the slim woman dropped to her knees in front of the blood covered blonde, the jolt as she hit the ground sent the water filling her eyes over their barriers. JJ immediately went to put her hand over the bleeding hole; she needed more time. If they hadn't been so stupid and realized the man was unstable Garcia wouldn't be dying right now… Her eyes widened with what she had just thought. Garcia is not dying. She is going to live, and be the beautiful tech goddess everyone knows her as. But, as her mind studied the blood surrounding her friend, she couldn't help but let the doubt fill her mind like a poison.

'No…' Rossi sighed as he surveyed his team members, finding his eyes settle upon the slumped figure of the technical analyst. The blood was practically flying out of her; at least that was what it seemed like. Only moments earlier, she was standing close, holding Morgan like a lifeline, and now she had been shot by a lunatic. _Andy Turner._ He was standing a couple of paces away from Garcia with a grim smile upon his face, watching as the life left her and enjoying every second of it. Rage practically radiated from the Italian agent. Images flashed in his mind; how helpful kind she was to him when he first joined the team, how inward and outwardly beautiful she is… Garcia was probably one of the most innocent and pure human beings he had ever met, one of the bright lights in the world and that bastard had just tried to snuff it out. Without another moment's pause, he ran over to the distressed family member and went to move her to lie down. He cradled her head as everyone pulled her onto the carpet. He would always remember the eyes; her eyes, staring up into him pleadingly. While retracting his hand from her blond hair he wiped away a tear that had slid from her eyes tenderly. She was going to be okay, she had to be.

'Oh my God.' Prentiss choked out. Her face paled and she began to shake as she saw Garcia stagger down the wall, soaking it in blood on the way down. The guilt followed the shock. It should have been her. Prentiss should have volunteered; she should have done something, or at least not have been a mouthy bitch to the crazed lunatic who had just shot her best friend. Tears poked and prodded at their barriers and she was not willing to let them free, she needed to be strong for Penelope; the happy, cheerful, kind, innocent Penelope who was now bleeding her way to heaven. No. She was not going to die tonight. With a rude glance at the man holding the gun, she strode towards the woman, she needed help and fast. After laying her flat, she ripped the sleeve off of her white blouse and gently removed JJ's and Garcia's hand to look at the wound. With the amount of blood pumping out, it would only be a matter of minutes and that's exactly what scared her. Prentiss folded the fabric and spoke to Garcia calmingly before applying the blouse over the bloodied hole, exerting force. She heard her friend whimper at the pressure and her heart crumbled. The whimper was broken and pleading; sounding more like a _let me die_. Prentiss sniffed away the tears as she looked into her friends eyes and told her everything was going to be okay; hoping against hope that nobody would die today, apart from Andy of course.

When he heard the gun go off, Hotch had closed his eyes; not in fear but in knowing, knowing that Garcia was going to be the target. Anyone who had done any sort of research on this team would know that Garcia was the heart of them all; if anybody hurt Garcia they would be considered dead. Hotch knew Andy's decision quickly enough, but not in time to launch himself in front of the bullet, and for that he cursed. Garcia was the most innocent one in here. She hasn't hurt a being in her life. Of course Hotch knew why it had to be her, but it didn't stop him asking the question. He hated how much this man knew about his team, and when Hotch got his hands on him, let's just say it would be under the radar; hell, all of them would kill him for what he has done. Hearing the frantic noises of his colleagues he rushed over to the bloodied woman who was his friend. The question entered his mind again. Why Garcia!? Her smile was always the brightest, her laugh the loudest, her love the biggest. Hotch remained stoic as he peeled off his suit jacket and transformed it into a pillow for Garcia. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment as he told her she was going to be fine. It was only when he moved to Prentiss to check on the wound that he realized he was shaking. One thing Hotch knew for sure was that the shaking wasn't for fear, but deep rage as he continued trying to save the technical analysts life.

Fury blinded him. His fists were balled, his brow unrelenting in its permanent frown. Morgan could hear the others tending to Garcia but he refused to look at nobody but the man who had just shot his Baby-Girl, who was smiling sickeningly in his direction. He approached the man in a flash, his bulky forearm smashing Turner's neck against the conference table. Raising his other arm, he brought it down on the shooters face, smiling at the sound of the crunch of the bones that bounced off of the walls. He was about to bring his rage down once more until he saw Andy bring up one of his hands, flashing the detonator, his thumb ready on the button. A smile lit his face once more as Andy saw Rossi and Hotch grab a large shoulder of Morgan and lead him away. Morgan would never have left if Garcia hadn't been on the ground bleeding profusely. The black man shrugged off the hands on his shoulders and strode to Garcia's side, grasping her hand in his, while the other lingered on her pale cheek. Morgan whispered reassurances, trying to keep Penelope conscious, while checking on her gunshot wound. Finally seeing how bad it was, he sighed and a movie played in his mind. Garcia's cheeky smile when he first called her Baby-Girl, the spoken I-Love-You they had exchanged previously, the caring looks, the bear hugs, the playful banter they exchanged made the world bearable. Tears threatened to fall down his own pale cheeks as he stared into her eyes; the happiness that once was so pronounced through them, being drowned out in pain. Fear shone through him like a light through glass as a thought crossed his mind. This may be the last moments on earth that he ever gets to spend with his Baby-Girl.

Reid didn't move. Even as JJ, Rossi, Hotch, Prentiss and eventually Morgan went to Garcia's side. This, after all, was what Andy was aiming for; a distraction. His own tears threatening to fall as he looked upon his colleagues, slowly backing through the door to the bull pen. He knew Garcia would be okay, as soon as Andy and he went on his _stroll_ the medics would be sent up and she would be saved. The only thing Reid regretted about the situation, besides Garcia having to get shot, was that he didn't get to say goodbye in person. Reid, despite his frazzled outlook, was an organized enough person. He was prepared for the day when he went away on a case and didn't come home again. When the team will read his will, they will find the letters he has in his apartment. One addressed to each of them; and a separate one for his mother. As he crossed the thresh hold of the door, he smiled one of his half smiles and with hands in his pockets he walked away. Not needing to look back to check if Andy was following, he walked towards the exit on the southern end of the floor and waited. Andy caught up soon enough.

'Now that we have that out of the way, how about a trip to the park?' Turner was expectedly excited. He opened the emergency exit door and gestured Reid to enter first. After he did so, Turner followed, closing the door quietly.

As he passed over each step, his feet setting a mind numbing pace, Reid realized something. There would be sharp shooters posted around the building, as soon as Turner set foot outside he would be shot, the large amount of explosive being a dead giveaway. How could he be so stupid? Why hadn't he realized this earlier… It had only been six minutes and thirty six seconds since Garcia had been shot, giving her enough time to fight until he paramedics arrived and approximately twenty four minutes and two seconds being held with Turner. This would give the police and bureau enough time to get together sharp shooters and paramedics, right? A spark of hope ignited in the pit of his stomach as he thought there may be a chance, no matter how slight, that he would get to see his family again, alive and well.

His thought process was interrupted by Turner's annoyingly condescending voice.

'Here we are!' He spoke calmly; his voice was verging on manic. His hand was on the handle of the door like he was preparing himself for something. 'This is it!' he muttered, more to himself than Reid.

As Andy twisted the exit door handle on the bottom floor, Reid prepared himself. He knew the rules for sharp shooters when a bomber was involved; shoot now, ask questions later. It all happened very quickly. Andy breathed in the fresh air as he stepped outside of the already evacuated building, holding on to the smell of the city, before a bullet whisked through the stale air and into his fore head. Blood splattered on Reid's face as the man fell backwards. Spencer sighed in relief, it was all over. Everybody was safe and he was going to see his family again. A sudden beeping told him he had spoken too soon.

Reid rushed over to the still warm body of Andy Turner and pulled back his jacket to reveal a timer. Then it hit the genius. Why Turner was so calm, what he had said made sense… he knew he would not get out of this alive. He had timed the bomb strapped to his chest; he had planned everything that went on in that room. Andy knew them all too well. He knew what they would do under these circumstances and Reid was too stupid to see it.

As Reid stood, he noted the numbers slowly counting down from ten, he walked out of the building almost casually. A certain feeling of resignation washed over the young man. He knew he was going to die, and he knew he could do nothing to stop it.

The blast ripped through the air, sending shards of shattered metal poles and debris flying as well as a certain genius. After the dust settled, the body of the bomber was under the rubble of the southern exit frame. Reid lay a good twenty metres away. Grazes, cuts and blood covered his skinny frame. The resigned, peaceful look upon his child-like face was not washed away in the blast, but instead the steady thrum of his strong, kind heart, was not being heard.

**I am SORRY! Please don't murder me! ;( I know it was bad of me buuuut… **

**This may not be the last chapter… I might right another if you guys want one! ;)**

**Reviews are muchly appreciated, although please don't bitch at me tooo bad for this chapter! Haha Thanks again for reading and Reviewing! Opinions are great too!**

**Until next time…**

**Claire xx**


	6. Chapter 6 (edited)

**ENJOY!**

9 Days Later

It was such a cliché that it was raining outside, not heavily, just the slight pattering that you could hear, quietly, at the back of your mind. There was an evil chill to the wind, though nobody bundled up as much as they should have; they were all numb as today was the day of Spencer Reid's funeral.

An alarm sounded, forcing Aaron to bring a fist onto the button for the noise to stop; for a couple of minutes, he lay there, not quite ready to face the day. He twisted his head and saw his formals, lying over the back of the tan leather chair in the corner of the room; immediately the reality of today hit him. Reid was not coming back. They all had had some hope when he was revived after the bomb blast, but he died later in hospital, at least he knew that Garcia was okay as they were lucky enough to say goodbye. After the good byes, nobody was dry-eyed, not even Hotch. Closing his eyes at the memory, the profiler rose out of bed and awoke Jack with a kiss on the forehead. After he and Jack had their breakfast, he changed his son into the freshly ironed formals and left him to play with his action figures. Hotch travelled to the bathroom and decided to take a shower after seeing his lifeless reflection, he hoped the hot water would put some life back into his sullen face. After that failed, he changed into his dark blue suit, with an equally dark tie, combed his jet black hair and looked over his speech one more time. He forced himself to show no emotion, they were only words on card. After all, nothing would bring his dead friend back. As Hotch walked down the hallway to his son's room, he refused to look at the many photographs of the team, it was too much. After looking at the time, he told Jack that it was time to go, placed him in the car and decided to pick up Rossi first; Prentiss would be a mess, but an organized mess. Morgan was taking Garcia; Will was taking JJ and Henry, leaving Hotch with Rossi and Prentiss. As he backed out of the apartment building, he sighed, hoping his emotional strength would hold for the rest of the day; but he knew it wouldn't.

JJ, in every sense of the phrase, had cried herself to sleep. She was just so exhausted from the past days that her body gave out into darkness. Henry slept in their bed ever since Will had found him at Andy Turner's house, and just like he said, he was unharmed, just scared. She didn't want to see Henry missing his godfather like he was, he would always ask about him. The most innocent questions were set her off; like asking when he would see 'Unca 'pesser' again. She was just so fragile. Just walking around her house, seeing all of the pictures of the team, it just broke her heart and she would erupt into tears every time. In the end, Will had to wake the exhausted bodies up; they had to leave for the venue in less than an hour. JJ forced herself out of bed while Will took Henry away to get ready. The blond dawdled towards the shower, but refused to look in the mirror; knowing that she would find an unstable, grieved woman staring back. The hot water wiped away the fresh tear tracks that she didn't even know fell in the short walk to the shower. Eventually, after Will had Henry eat breakfast and get changed into his child sized suit, he came and got JJ out of the shower. After years in the relationship, they both had experienced loss, but nothing like this to JJ. She had lost her best friend. Will placed her black dress on the bed and changed into his suit, then brought Henry downstairs to play for a while. JJ put her silk black dress on her slim figure, tied her hair up in a messy, but presentable bun but didn't bother to apply any makeup; it would be washed away later so there was no point, she grabbed a warm coat and left the room. Like a zombie, she travelled downstairs, hugged her son and, after checking he was warm enough, carried him to the car. Will followed, locking the door behind him, started the car and the broken family drove towards the cemetery. JJ checked her handbag for her speech, saw it, but refused to practice. She couldn't handle it; reading that speech out would make it seem more real, and right now, JJ could only hope that this was all a horrible nightmare.

Rossi needed no alarm to wake him up; the steady hum of a fresh liquor-made headache was beginning to show. He was by no means an alcoholic, but a nice glass or two of scotch calmed his nerves. He sat up, wiping his hands over his face as he did so, before he stood, walked to the shower. Living alone had its perks, like being able to leave your bathroom door wide open, but at the moment that turned out to be a downfall; Rossi could easily see the black suit that was draped over the couch from the shower. Then it was gone; the moment of piece you have in the morning, before all of the problems in your life hit you like a smack in the face. Reid was dead; gone. Swallowing some of the water flowing from the overhead, he washed the stale taste that the alcohol had left in his mouth, stepped onto the marble floor while wrapping a towel around him, then exited the bathroom with a glance in the steamy mirror. To be honest, it looked like he had aged ten years; his face was pale, eyes and cheeks sunken with exhaustion, smile lines beginning to fade. Walking away, he shrugged into his freshly pressed suit and walked downstairs patting his pockets for his speech, and was rewarded as he felt the cold card touch his aged fingers. As he past the bookcase, a wave of sadness stabbed him in the heart. He looked at one of his many books and a memory came to light of Reid reciting facts from Rossi's own book right in front of him. Frowning at the thought of the young man and how it brought a mix of fury and sadness into his eyes, he continued down the curved stairwell, clearing his now clogged throat as he went. The door bell sounded. He opened the door to a tired looking unit chief; taking in his expression, Rossi patted Hotch on the shoulder and locked the door before following his friend to the car that would take him to one of the worst days of his life.

Opening her eyes, it felt like they had never really closed, like she hadn't slept at all in the past week. Slowly, the sound of her alarm wafted into her brain telling her it was time to get up, and as the reality of what today was hit her, she realized she really needed a shower. This was how Emily had learnt to deal with things. The calming pattering of the hot liquid calmed her some, but the sobs that violently racked her body didn't help her demeanour. The shower she took this morning would be no different. After slipping out of the sheets, she walked into the bathroom shower, and on the way caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The grief-struck, dark eyed, exhausted looking woman stared back at her in disgust. Turning on the shower, the steam began to cloud the medium-sized bathroom, covering the mirror. Gratefully, she turned away and sat down under the shower spray and let her silent tears flow. What little amount of healing that had begun in a week began to crumble as she knew today was the day of his funeral. She didn't know how she would get through her goodbyes at the gathering without letting herself tear up; Reid was her best friend and confidant. Emily could tell him anything, but now the cute awkward, heart-warming smile was never to be seen again. After around half an hour, she shakily stood, wrapped a towel around her and exited the bathroom without looking back. The numbness set in as she pulled on a knee length black dress and grabbed a black wool coat to go with it. She couldn't bring herself to eat, so instead she put what little makeup she could manage with shaky hands, and tied her hair back in a neat pony-tail, she had to look her best, nobody could know that she was falling apart inside. A knock at her apartment door reminded her it was time to leave. With one last look at the well-presented woman in the mirror, she walked out the front door, hoping that today wouldn't break her.

Garcia awoke with Morgan stroking her hair comfortingly, and telling her it was time to get up. She tried to remember how Morgan had ended up in her bed, and soon realized that today was _his_ funeral. She must have been a mess last night and Morgan must have come over to comfort her. In the end, her only motivation to get up was that she would get to see her family today. After all, Garcia had been on medical leave and everyone else had time of to deal with… things. Garcia regretfully rolled onto her sore side, where the gunshot had entered her, and cringed. She had been out of the hospital for three days but the pain was definitely still there. Morgan had offered to help her up, but she turned him down and she headed for the shower. As she looked in the mirror, she wasn't too shocked to find a young, broken, already crying woman staring straight back at her. Garcia's normally full, bouncy hair was as flat and lifeless as she felt. At heart, she knew she wasn't crying for the pain of her wound, but the pain of losing her friend. The nerdy genius she loved with all of her big heart was gone. Some bastard had ripped him out of her life, and for once, Garcia was glad he was dead. She quickly hopped into the shower, hoping the sound of the splattering hot water would disguise her sobs. Soon enough, Morgan knocked on the bathroom door; effectively telling her time was running out. Carefully, she got out of the shower on shaky legs; not even the bright pink and purple frogs on the shower curtain made her smile. Refusing to look at the photos of her BAU family that adorned the walls, she crept into her closet, and changed into a black and white spotted dress, with a matching spotted cardigan, and black pumps. After brushing her wet hair, she let it hang down, slowly drying in the cold of her apartment. Morgan politely told her that it was time to leave, and she closed the door to her colourful apartment hoping that the day to come wasn't truly real.

To be honest, Morgan hadn't slept one minute that night at Garcia's house. He just lay there, failing to believe that this was all truly happening; that he would have to attend his best friend's funeral. Morgan was the last one to say goodbye to Reid in hospital, three days after the explosion. Morgan had held his hand as the life left his younger friend, and didn't dare let his tears fall until he was home. His apartment looked like a bombsite; he swore there wasn't one thing that wasn't broken in that whole house. It wasn't until he found he had broken a photo of the seven of them at Rossi's house that he had begun to let the tears fall. His younger brother, geeky, nerdy, genius was gone, and that left Morgan with an emptiness _nobody_ should have to experience. Derek knew, all too well, that he was in denial. By the time he woke Garcia up, Morgan had already had a two hour run and a shower, but he refused to get into his suit yet. He saw Garcia cringe as she rolled over, and tears erupt from her eyes, he offered a hand, but she denied. He walked into the lounge and sat, unseeingly staring at the television, trying to drown out the sound of the shower, and in turn Garcia's quiet but distinct sobs. Noticing the time, he slipped into his suit regretfully, and knocked on the bathroom door. Giving Garcia her privacy, he walked into the kitchen and thought about making coffee, but even that brought back memories. _Woah there, Pretty Boy, want some more coffee with your sugar? _Derek had teased him, and the look on Reid's face had been one he had seen many times before, but now, he truly missed it. Tears of rage and sadness found their way into his eyes, but he shrugged them away angrily. As Garcia came out in her spotted outfit, her wrapped his arm around her and walked her shakily towards the car, hoping dearly that they would all get through this.

**Mmmmmmkay. There is one more chapter to go in this story! Thank you guys for reading and reviewing and following me through this story! Its been challengingly fun! Next chapter: Reids Funeral. Will be up soon! :) Im sorry I killed him, it was my aim all along! But hey, at least Garcia is okay right? ;) Thanks so much again! I hope that all of their physical reactions were quite accurate, the more emotional ones will be in the next chapter/ the last chapter! Opinions would be awesome! See you guys then! Xx**

**EDIT-Just because he is 'Gone' in this chapter, doesnt mean he totally is yet, guys. ;) I can be very deceptive, in a good way, that is! ;)**

**Claire.**


	7. Chapter 7

**My gift to you, a final, nice, long chapter. ;) xx ENJOY!**

'And now, I ask the fellow BAU members of Dr Spencer Reid's team to say a few words about their beloved colleague.' The pastor said as he stepped down off of a little square podium that sat at the head of a dark wooded coffin. The service was moderately sized, being held outside, in the cemetery grounds, where Spencer would be buried. Looking around, the rain during the day and turned into a light drizzle, leaving sparkling grass surrounding the coffin; the shining of water reflecting in many people's teary eyes. The darkly dressed crowd was positioned in a semi-circle around the burial space, each holding yellow roses that too were wet; not with rain but with tears. In the end, Diana Reid had become too unstable to attend her own son's funeral. She had become very violent towards Morgan when he and Garcia had flown out to tell her the news in person, saying that _you fascists are lying! What did you do with him!? What did you do with my poor Spencer!?_ Eventually, sedation was the only option before she hurt herself or someone else. Nobody would blame her though; she was never meant to outlive her son. Silence had overtaken the crowd as Rossi solemnly walked towards the elevated square, holding a small piece of card in his rough hand.

Clearing his clogged throat, he began to speak.

'Today, we mourn the loss of an exceptional agent, loving son and overall great man. I am forever grateful of the four years I had been able to spend alongside this person, and am ultimately at a loss that he will fail to be there anymore. Spencer Reid was a selfless man. I remember, the first day on the job with the kid, he couldn't control his own excitement.' Rossi chuckled at the memory, before a sad smile attached itself to his aged face. 'At that moment I had never imagined that that man would become a part of my family. I am extremely proud to say that I had the honour to work beside him, and to know him for who he was; a caring, intelligent, kind and compassionate person. It was a privilege to watch him grow and become the man he was and still is today. What he did, sacrificing his life… It is the bravest thing…' Tears in his eyes, he cleared his throat one last time. 'It is the bravest and most courageous thing I have ever seen, and that fierce courage is why he is not with us today. Goodbye, Spencer… May there always be people like you in this world and the next. Resto facile, figlio mio, resto facile.'* Rossi bowed his head, hiding the near leaking tear that was trapped in his dark eyes, and stepped off of the elevated position, earning a solemn pat on the shoulder when he joined the team again. Only when Emily ascended the small platform, and all eyes were off him, did he let those sacred tears fall.

Emily approached the head of the coffin, laid a hand over the cold wood as she passed her friend, and stood tall on the risen platform. Sighing, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. 'Spencer Reid was one of the good people in this world; not one bad thing can ever be said about him. No words can even begin to describe how much I miss him... The geeky smile we would all get in the mornings, the useful but long rants of statistics, just to hear his voice one last time…' Emily's voice broke. 'Spencer was a compassionate person and one of my closest friends. He was trust-worthy, warm and deserving. His love for coffee was overwhelming, and his awkwardness is what made Reid, Reid. He was taken from us, too soon to even speak of, and I can't imagine where I would be without him.' She sniffed as her eyes began to fill with clear liquid. 'Nor can I imagine what life will be like without such a kind and gentle being. I loved him like a little brother, and I don't know how I am meant to continue without him…' Sighing as a tear ran down her pale cheek, she continued. 'Reid, I would like to thank you; for all your years of friendship, for the laughter, the tears, the comfort and the smiles; the good and the bad. I love you so much.' Tears clouded her vision even further as she found her way to the team, taking her place next to all of them, beside their colleague in the coffin. She smiled at the memories that filled her mind at the thought of their resident Genius, and let the tears fall upon her pale cheeks with a glad smile upon her face.

Garcia approached the platform slowly, holding on to Morgan. She couldn't stand on her own, not at a time like this. She was attending her best friend's funeral, people should expect nothing less than the view of the broken Penelope Garcia that they had. Garcia had no piece of card or paper to read of off, she needed none to express how she felt about her friend. With a shaky breath and a squeeze of Morgan's comforting hand, she spoke. 'Hello, My name is Penelope and… Boy Genius was my world. Every morning for the past seven years has been nearly the same. Every morning, I would arrive at work, holding two cups of coffee, one for me and a refill for my dear coffee loving genius. Every morning I would greet Spencer with a kiss on the cheek, no matter how much he hated it. Every morning, that Genius would smile his awkward half smile…' Tears began to flow freely, slowly turning into sobs. '… And he would always say _Good morning Garcia_. I… I don't know what I'm going to do now he won't be there. It feels as if a chunk of me has been taken along with him, and I don't think I will ever get that piece of me back…. I- He- Spencer Reid was the most loving person you could ever meet, and I am… I am going to miss him… s-so much…' Choking back a sob, she continued. 'My super-duper junior G-man and Boy Genius, I love you so much. We all do, and I don't know how we are meant to carry on without you, but… Nobody can ever replace you, never forget that, Reid. Nobody, you are you. See you in Heaven, my boy-wonder, missing you already...' Shakily, Garcia sobbed into Derek's shoulder as he led her to the team, nobody was left dry-eyed.

The slim blond approached the dreaded platform, hoping her minimal amount of composure she had left would stay strong, but she knew it wouldn't. Holding her son at her hip, he was her anchor, she began to speak from the card Henry was holding for her. 'To me, Spencer Reid was more than just a friend you could rely on with anything; he was my brother. He was a strong and brave man that has sacrificed his life to save us, and words cannot even begin to describe the way I feel about him.' She sniffed as she saw Henry snuggle into her side. 'I love him with all of my heart and will forever cherish the memories he has gifted me with over the years I have worked alongside this amazing man… I remember when I asked him to be the godfather of my son, Henry, I practically forced him into Spencer's arms and at that moment I knew by the look in his eyes that I had made the right choice… Reid's eyes held the same passive wonder, the fear and the overwhelming love that he viewed each of us with every day.' Tears began to leak from her frozen blue eyes. 'Spence, I have always loved you and I will forever more, without you in my life, a piece of me is missing… I-I don't think I will ever be able to get it back. At least now you're in a place where no pain can come, and I promise to you that Henry will grow up knowing how much of a great godfather you were to him. I will never forget you, or forget to love you.' Wiping away some tears with her free hand, she kissed her son on the forehead. As she walked past the dark coffin, she heard her son audibly whisper. 'Goodbye Unca' 'Pesser. I wuv you and miss you fo-ever.' Snuggling her child, she took her place next to Will and the team, her hand latching itself onto Will; craving the strength that he provided.

Derek wasn't ready to speak yet, he was still angry with what Reid had done. He didn't think he could get through talking about him without breaking. Solemnly, Derek handed Penelope over to Rossi, she was too much of a mess to not have someone to hold on to, and made his way over to the platform. Sighing, he grabbed a rough looking piece of paper out of his pocket and began to read it aloud, but after the first sentence, he could feel his walls beginning to crack. 'Spencer Reid was not only my best friend, but my brother. I remember thinking the first time we met that this scrawny kid needed some training up, to build some muscle…' Derek chuckled sadly, remembering the memory. 'But I didn't know how thick the young man's skin was. If I had to pick one word to describe my brother, that word would be strong. Spencer Reid was the strongest man I have ever known; he showed many what it meant to be strong in every sense. With all he has been through during his too short life time, I cannot begin to say how proud I am of him and how far he has come; batting his own demons as well as everyone else's. Although he may have been a genius, what he did, sacrificing his life to safe us… it was incredibly stupid of him. Stupid in the sense that he didn't think we could have helped…' Morgan had to stop himself, he felt the need to punch something begin to rise, but now was not the time. '…but I am incredibly proud to call him my brother; his bravery is frankly astounding. I will miss everything about the man we are here to mourn, from his odd socks to nearly inhuman love of coffee. He was and always will be my brother.' Letting a stray tear fall from his dark eyes, he finally realized that his friend was not coming back. 'Pretty Boy, thank you, you have grown into the man you are today, and in turn have shaped me into a better person with your compassion and bravery… I love you, man... until we meet again, Reid.' The last moments were spent staring at the coffin that contained their dead friend as Morgan made his way to stand beside Prentiss and Garcia; not forgetting to place his hand over his friend's final resting place. Closing his eyes, he said a silent prayer and let the tears roll down his cheek.

Fighting to keep his stoic expression, Hotch moved to stand atop the small platform, after squeezing Jack's shoulders. He patted his pockets, even though he knew which pocket the small card was inside, obviously trying to stall. Clearing his throat, he began to read the words off the card as robotically as he could manage. 'Albert Pike said _What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal._ In this case, Spencer Reid is and always will be an immortal soul. In the many years that I had the honour to call him my colleague and my friend, I cannot recall one selfish act, Reid was, if there ever was one, a completely selfless person, and his selflessness and bravery is why he isn't here with us today.' Clearing his throat and blinking rapidly he continued. 'When Reid joined the team, I remembered thinking that he wouldn't last very long. And to be honest, I have never been so grateful to be so wrong in all my life. The man brought knowledge and compassion into all of our everyday lives, and for that I am truly thankful. I never would have imagined that today, more than seven years after meeting this amazing person, I would be standing here… and telling all of you how much one single person impacted my life so much.' Hotch's stoic expression faltered for only a moment, taking a much needed breather, he proceeded with silent tears in his eyes. '_There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love.' _Washington Irving's wise words I think speak for all of us here today, mourning the loss of an extraordinary man and compassionate friend. Thank you, Reid, for all you have taught me, for all you have proved and for your silent support throughout our years as colleagues. I have and always will love you as if you were my own son… and I am sorry I am only saying so now… Goodbye, Reid.' With his head held high, Hotch placed his hand over the coffin, and walked briskly back to his place next to his son and the team, solemnly sniffing away the mix of grieved yet proud tears that had found their way to his sunken cheeks.

Slowly, everyone holding a yellow rose walked past Spencer's coffin and laid it upon the cold wooden surface, some whispering their goodbyes. Garcia noticed through her tears that Nathan Harris was paying his respects too, the nurses now escorting him away from the coffin. After everyone had placed their yellow rose, the team picked their bright red ones and slowly placed them one by one atop the pile of yellow roses, whispering goodbyes through their tears, before walking away from their friend, finally leaving him at peace.

* * *

A lone man dressed in black pants and a dark long-sleeved shirt slowly walked towards the abandoned coffin, holding nothing but a white rose in his pale hands. 'Goodbye, Spencer.' Jason Gideon spoke as he let the rose fall atop the pile of flowers already resting there.

* * *

The young man walked briskly, black glasses pulled over his eyes, dark brown coat covering his checked vest against a light blue collared shirt with a red tie and purple scarf. His black slacks were dampened with water that was splattering around his harsh footsteps, also dirtying his black Chuck Taylors. Trying not to limp, he climbed the stairs, opened the door quickly and shut and locked it in the same manner. The brunette hadn't had enough time to settle into his new home yet, no curtains covered the large windows, and no books filled the bookcases that lined the walls of the flashy apartment. That was part of the 'package deal', the flashy apartment with a nice view, the financial stability or rather the payoff that the government paid him for his troubles. The only thing the pale man had been allowed to take was what he had on him, which at the time was just a hospital gown and his messenger bag. Spencer Reid sighed and sat in an uncomfortable leather chair that was positioned back towards a glass window and thought back to how much his life had changed in less than two weeks.

When he was in hospital, recovering from the explosion, the director of the FBI himself had come to meet him and break the sinister news. Apparently, Andy Turner was a foot soldier of a home grown terrorist group targeting government agencies, such as the CIA and the FBI, and Reid had become the newest victim of their latest tactic, infiltration. The terrorist group known as K.O had used Andy Turner as their pawn, knowing his past with Dowd, and they wanted Reid to be taken care of because he was viewed as the greatest asset to the team, which made the deal seem so much sweeter for Turner. The director stressed the fact that Reid had to be dead because without this belief, the life of the undercover agent in the K.O group would be at risk due to trust factors. The undercover agent had apparently been the one to share these tactics with the leader of the organisation, and if they didn't work, the trust and ultimately the power between the head of the group and their way into the organisation would be severed. Reid had been told that the undercover agent had failed to share his tactics with the director before they were carried out due to _technical_ issues. With the knowledge that several agents and other governmental organisations had lost their people and lives to this terrorist group, Reid had no choice but to go into hiding under witness protection of the FBI. He couldn't be responsible for the death of fellow agents, just so he could stay in his life, with his family… that would be selfish of him.

In the end, the only way that the team would accept his death was if they saw it themselves. The director arranged a nurse to inject him with Tetrodotoxin, telling the team it was pain killers, inducing a death like paralysis; lowering his pulse rate and heart beat to a near undetectable level. The machines had been elaborately programmed to flat line, and the team had been told beforehand that there was nothing they could do to save Reid. It was as believable as you could get, and Reid was disappointed… he missed the team so much. He didn't know how he was supposed to stay in hiding for the next couple of months before he was told it was safe… The Director had told him that the operation should be clean cut by the end of the year if things went according to plan. Reid knew much better than to hope to get to see his family again after a year… the odds were against him.

Sighing at the thought he was homesick, he lifted himself out of the chair carefully. He had been air lifted to a Canadian hospital so he could recover from his injuries after the team thought he was gone, and had only been out of that particular hospital for two days, everything was still a bit tender, and he was not about to get out those pain killers he had been prescribed. Reaching for his messenger bag, he dug around searching for a particular object he had concealed inside. Smiling happily to himself, he carried the object over to his seat by the window and stared at it. The object grasped in Dr Reid's fingers was none other than a photograph that Garcia had brought with her to the hospital before the relocation to Canada after his apparent death. It was a recent one, Reid's thirtieth birthday in fact; Reid was sat in the middle with a white frosted cake in front of him while JJ cut it. Morgan was in the process of stealing some of the frosting of the top and Garcia was trying to slap him away. Emily stood beside Reid, laughing at Morgan and Garcia, while Rossi was critiquing JJ on how to cut it properly, without ruining the decoration. Hotch must have been the one behind the camera. Reid sat, staring and revelling in the happy memories that overtook the nightmare he was in at the moment. Letting a few stray tears fall, he decided that the chair wasn't too uncomfortable, and curled up; hugging the photograph before falling into a contented sleep.

* * *

The hooded figure smiled grimly from behind his camera lens; thanking the fact that the other man's place had no curtains. Zooming in on the sleeping man's face, he took a few snap shots; he had been told to collect evidence to show if the man whom was sleeping was who they were looking for, Dr Spencer Reid. After sending the snapshots to a computer analyst back at the hide out, he compared the two faces for himself. To nobody's surprise, the two pictures showed the same person. The hooded figure holding the camera smiled a grim smile to himself thoughtfully. _And now the real fun begins…_

* * *

**The end! Done, Finished! Thank you guys so so so much! I love you all for following my journey to write this challenging, for me anyways, story! **

***Translation of Rossi's Italian- Rest easy, my son, rest easy.- ;)**

**As you can probably tell from the ending, that Reid is still alive but someone is still out to get him… which may be in a SEQUEL if anyone is interested in me writing one? Anybody? No?*echo…* haha ;) I would like to thank you all once more, for your stunning, heartfelt, and thought-provoking reviews to Taking Your Place! Any questions you may want to ask me, feel free! **

**Please review! I would love to know how you think the Funeral was! Because for me it was a challenging chapter, hence the long update time (sorry about that!) ! All opinions welcome! Thanks again guys, Love you all so much including guest readers! Thanks for following favouriting… you guys are just too awesome! Thank you! Xx**

**Claire**

**p.s Until we meet again…. Maybe ;)**


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